National Politics

By Kylie Atwood, CNN The State Department notified Congress of a new $650 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia today, according to a State Department spokesperson. The sale comes as the Biden administration continues to grapple with the US-Saudi relationship that has been strained in recent years following the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi

By Christopher Hickey and Nicki Camberg, CNN Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin notably improved the GOP’s standing with younger voters, moderates, independents and White women since the last gubernatorial election in 2017. Youngkin’s inroads among these swing voters, seen in an analysis of CNN’s exit polls from 2017 and 2021, made him the first Republican to

By Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski, CNN Kari Lake, the Arizona gubernatorial candidate recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has embraced fringe far-right figures in her campaign events, including publicly thanking a Nazi sympathizer for his support and appearing with figures linked to the QAnon conspiracy, a CNN KFile review of her appearances has

By Shawna Mizelle, CNN The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Robert Santos as director of the Census Bureau, making him the first person of color to hold the position in a permanent capacity. Santos, who is Mexican American, was confirmed in a 58-35 vote. Ten Republicans joined Democrats in voting to confirm him. Santos

By Evan Perez, CNN Justice Correspondent The Justice Department is suing Texas over new voting restrictions that the federal government says will disenfranchise eligible voters and violate federal voting rights law. RELATED: The new Texas voting law includes these 7 major changes The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in San Antonio challenges the law

By Maegan Vazquez, CNN Regina LaBelle, the former acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is leaving her job at the White House on Friday following the recent confirmation of Dr. Rahul Gupta as drug czar, a source familiar told CNN. In a departure letter to stakeholders and staff obtained

By Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles, CNN Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, told reporters that he has signed about 20 subpoenas and that they are going out “soon,” possibly by Friday. Thompson would not confirm if former Trump lawyer John Eastman, who

By Priscilla Alvarez and Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden is OK with the Justice Department settling with families separated at the US-Mexico border under the Trump administration, White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday, but not for a reported $450,000 each. “If it saves taxpayer dollars and puts the disastrous

By Maeve Reston, CNN During the final Virginia gubernatorial debate in late September, Republican Glenn Youngkin’s aides knew they had struck campaign gold. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” Democrat Terry McAuliffe said in a line that would soon be taken out of context and spliced into stump speeches

By Sonia Moghe, CNN Alvin Bragg, a former New York state and federal prosecutor, has been elected Manhattan’s first Black district attorney in the history of the office. Bragg, a former federal prosecutor with the criminal division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, defeated Republican Thomas Kenniff, a former

By Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN A Texas real estate agent who previously claimed she was “definitely not going to jail” for storming the US Capitol on January 6 was sentenced to 60 days behind bars on Thursday — the harshest punishment so far for a rioter who has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor

By Katie Lobosco, CNN Federal workers will be granted paid time off to take their children to get vaccinated, the government announced Wednesday. Children ages 5 through 11 became eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine this week, allowing about 28 million more kids in the United States to receive the two-dose shot. Federal agencies must

By Clare Foran and Daniella Diaz, CNN The House will vote on both President Joe Biden’s sweeping social safety net plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Friday. House Democratic leaders had been hoping for a vote on the economic package on Thursday evening, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the Rules Committee would

By Melanie Zanona, CNN Rep. Adam Kinzinger is actively weighing whether to seek his political fortunes in the Senate, the Illinois governor’s mansion or even the White House, despite serious questions about whether there’s any future at all for a Donald Trump critic like him in today’s GOP. Acknowledging his potential career options and timeline